Page 100 of Lost in the Dark

“Iris Browne, you are condemned to death for your crimes. May the Lord take pity on your soul,” Father Aldous said from behind me.

In perfect synchrony, the men gripped my arms and tossed me into the cavern.

Iscreamed as my body flew through the abyss, knowing that with each passing moment I was careening closer to the rocky cavern floor. I braced myself for impact, but was shocked when I collided with a spongy bed of what felt like moss and leaves.

“Oof,” I groaned as my breath left my chest with the impact.

Even with the soft landing pad, it was still a long fall.

The scent of damp earth and decay filled my nostrils, and a tiny pinprick of light filtered down from the mouth of the cave. I could just barely make out two shadows gazing down at me. But after a few moments, they disappeared and I was alone.

I sat up and gathered my thoughts, trying desperately to understand how human beings could do this to another.

Prostitution, theft, and witchcraft.

I’d never practiced witchcraft a day in my life. After the death of my parents, I did what I had to in order to survive.

I stood on shaky legs and traced the walls of the cave with my fingers. It was surprisingly smooth, almost as if someone had removed all the jagged edges.

It was probably the demon, making sure his meals couldn’t scale their way out of the pit.

The demon.

A shiver ran down my spine at the very thought. He had to know I was here.

The way I saw it was I had two choices: I could stay here and wait for him to find me, or I could head into the cave and at least attempt to get away.

There was no way I’d let him take me without a fight.

Several times I blinked my eyes, trying to get them used to the darkness, but it was no use. I’d have to feel my way around the cavern.

Placing my hands out in front of me, I felt along the cave walls for an opening. Stones dug into my feet with each slow step, but I kept pushing forward until a warm breeze caressed the tips of my fingers.

For a moment, I hesitated. Warm air coming frominsidethe cave. It was too cold outside to be coming from an exit. What if it was from the demon?

I shuffled around blindly, my fingers skimming along the cave for another way out, but it was no use. My brow furrowed with indecision. There was one route and one route only.

Tepid air wafted from the opening and I followed it, journeying further into the depths and likely closer to the demon himself.

Selvyn

The pointed tips of my ears perked up when I heard a faint thud resonate from the bottom of the pit. The moss and leaves I’d laid there had softened their fall, but it was still a long way down. It had been a long time since the last sacrifice—easily ten or so years—but I still kept the area padded just in case.

What had this human done to anger the townsfolk?

I was certain I’d received a blessing and they’d forgotten about my existence down here in the caves.

It seemed that was not the case.

I sighed and rubbed a rough palm over the cracked tip of one of my horns. Humans had terrible eyesight, I thought to myself. I should probably go and retrieve it before it wanders off a cliff.

Rising to my feet, I let out a deep groan as I stretched out my body. Here in my main quarters I could comfortably stand upright, but in the tunnels I had to resort to crouching to fit.

I grabbed a handful of glowing mushrooms from where they sprouted along the wall and trekked off into the tunnels with my tail swaying back and forth behind me.

My nostrils flared as I sucked in deep breaths, the stench of a human filling my nose. It was definitely a woman, but there was a masculine undertone—that of sweat and sex.

I rubbed my temples with the clawed tips of my fingers and tsked in disgust. Another mistress. Why couldn’t they leave those poor women alone? Or at least make the men utilizing their services suffer alongside them?

---